miércoles, 15 de diciembre de 2010

Whatever arises in dependence
Has no cessation and no arising
No extinction and no permanence
No coming and no going,
And is neither different nor the same.
Mental constructs completely stilled,
It is taught to be peace.
I bow down to the genuine words
Of the perfect buddhas.

What is the meaning of the word Dharma (in Tibetan cho)? It means “to transform,” “to make changes,” or “to alter.” This is not a change forced by something outside like a hammer: it is the actual discovery of an antidote for our afflictions. It functions just like the medicine we take when we are sick. In this way, the afflictions will start to lose their power, and we are better able to deal with them. This undermining of our afflictions is the destination, the true goal, of all the teachings.

The first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, said that through the wisdom of listening and studying, we come to understand the nature of our mind; through the wisdom of reflection, we come to control our afflictions; and through the wisdom of meditation, we uproot the afflictions completely.

This process is very important as it is the afflictions that trouble our mind. It could be said that the purpose of all Dharma is to work on the afflictions. When the Dharma connects with our afflictions, the Dharma becomes the Dharma and the instructions become worthwhile. If this is not the case, it’s like making offerings to the East for spirits who abide in the West. With you back to the target, you’re facing the wrong direction.

For working with the afflictions, the Kadampa spiritual friends have a system of counting black and white pebbles. With a heap of each color, you count one white pebble for a positive thought and one black pebble for a negative one. At end of a session or of the day, you see what is left. If there are a lot of black pebbles, you chide yourself for being so negative. If there are more white ones, then you congratulate yourself. In either case, you make the commitment to do better the next day. You can also remember, “Today I used this remedy for that affliction.” Like this, we can work for a year on our afflictions and then see how we have changed. Otherwise, it will be difficult to transform as we have no way to improve ourselves.

In this special place of Bodh Gaya and at this special time of the first Karmapa’s 900th anniversary, we are extremely fortunate to have with us so many great masters and so many practitioners who have gathered together. We must, therefore, think in a different way and make a special effort to do our practice.

We repeat often, “May I attain full awakening for the sake of all living beings.” But nothing is really happening within our minds, we are just mouthing some words. [His Holiness picks up a bunched kata lying next to him and vigorously swings at his cushion, imitating someone killing a bothersome insect. Then he gently raises his palms and softly blows across them, commenting, “Maybe we should do like this.”]

Though our body, speech, and mind, we should engage in positive actions with a clear intention. For example, refraining from killing does not just happen: you make an clear decision, a firm commitment, not to kill and this makes your intention into something positive. Since everything comes back to the mind, we should talk to our mind and give it advice. We should both counsel and analyze our minds. The Buddha Shakyamuni has given us effective methods for working on our minds; however, whether we use them or not depends on us. The Buddha does not sit there and tell us what to do all the time. We are our own savior, our own protector. We should give ourselves the gift of a good future.

Some people say, “Well, this is my personality. It’s just the way I am.” That’s an excuse not to change. Right now, our personality is coarse, so we need to work on it: this is the only way.

martes, 14 de diciembre de 2010

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of six millions Tibetans and a global icon of peace and inter-faith harmony, was Tuesday conferred an honorary doctorate by Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, a government-funded central university with a 90-year-old rich history. The Jamia is the first Indian university to confer an honorary degree on the spiritual leader.

The honour that had the nod of the Indian government was conferred on the Nobel Peace laureate after the Human Resource Development Ministry’s proposal on the matter was cleared by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The proposal was earlier held up by the government as it feared it might upset China which calls the Dalai Lama a separatist.

Religious tolerance and peace were the messages which echoed as university Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung awarded the ‘Doctor of Letters’ (D.Litt) degree to the Dalai Lama in the presence of Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and thousands of students and members of the faculty, besides diplomats and leading lights, at the university campus.

“I feel highly honoured to get this degree from an Islamic university. One of my main concerns is religious harmony,” the Dalai Lama said after receiving the degree.

The citation presented on the occasion to the Dalai Lama said “Jamia Millia Islamia honours His Holiness, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, one of the most respected figures and teachers of our times, who stands for rationality, humanism, non-violence, peace and universal benevolence.”

Addressing the students, the Dalai Lama gave the message of making the 21st century a century of peace.

“The 20th century was a century of bloodshed, but nothing was achieved out of that bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of peace and you will shape it,” he said adding that education should go along with morals and ethics to achieve this aim.

Sibal congratulated the university for honouring the Dalai Lama in “keeping with its secular traditions”.

Emphasising on the value of higher education, Sibal said that the future of India depended on its education sector.

“India will emerge as the international hub for education and what the BPO and IT sectors are today for India, education will be in 2010,” he said to loud cheers from the students.

Speaking on the occasion, Najeeb Jung said that the Dalai Lama was one of the biggest propagators of inter-faith dialogue and a true inheritor of Mahatma Gandhi’s message of peace and non-violence.

“If there is any one who has stood for the power of non-violent persuasion in the contemporary world, who has restored our faith in relevance of moral critique, it is His Holiness,” Jung said.

Talking about the university, Jung highlighted that the founders envisioned Jamia as an institution to bring Muslims as partners in India’s pluralism.

“The Jamia envisioned by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Dr. M.A. Ansari, and Dr. Zakir Hussain, was a pioneering teaching institution that would make Muslims full partners in the great project that is Indian pluralism,” he said.

The Dalai lama also hailed Islam saying that few mischievous elements were bringing a bad name to it.

“I defend Islam, due to few mischievous people, Islam is getting a bad name,” the Dalai Lama said.

Thousands of students attended the annual convocation of the university – described as the “creme de la creme of our central universities” by Sibal – where 3,529 degrees and diplomas, 127 Ph.D. degrees and 147 gold medals were awarded.

Dear Söpa,As the ICT staff prepares for the holidays - from Washington, D.C. to Kathmandu - we are, as ever, mindful of our Tibetan brothers and sisters and the risks they take every day in the struggle for greater freedoms in Tibet. We wish to thank you for working with us so that their efforts are known and meaningfully supported by the international community.

Looking back at 2010, I would like to especially thank you for your tremendous response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the April earthquake in Kyegundo. Your generosity made it possible for ICT to get the urgent needs of survivors met and to help rebuild lives and institutions in this historically important Tibetan area.

Thank you too for the great outpouring of enthusiasm when we celebrated His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 75th birthday with pledges of renewed dedication to the pursuit of human rights and democratic freedoms for Tibetans. ICT received and delivered nearly 10,000 birthday messages!

We know the Tibetan cause is important to you because you have remained committed to its success even during the most difficult times. We expect that 2011 will be another challenging year. Yet, with your support, standing with us, ICT will be prepared to meet both challenges and opportunities with skill, energy and enthusiasm -- and the resources necessary to keep Tibetans empowered and get the job done!

However you choose to celebrate this time of year, we know you will keep love in your heart and kindness in your mind.

On behalf of all my colleagues at ICT, I wish you the happiest of holidays and a new year that sees real progress for peace and justice for all.